photo: Gerry Thomasen

Welcome to the Vancouver Lexicon. Its purpose is to pin down the patois of the City of Vancouver by recording its toponyms, nicknames, slang terms, personalities, places, and other Van-centric things. Full A-Z here.

Burning Vehicle | phenomenon | To avoid getting caught for their crimes, the glove-wearing killers that operate in the Lower Mainland’s gang wars use recently stolen vehicles pre-loaded with fire accelerants as their getaway conveyance. As has been repeatedly shown, once these murderers have done (or attempted) the deed they drive away to a quiet place where they set the unfortunate vehicle on fire to destroy any evidence that might identify them. Social media reports of ‘burning vehicle’ then follow, confirming to all that bullets have just flown.

Usage: “Like sunshine after rain and dawn after dark, a report of a burning vehicle usually means a gangster has just been shot at.”